2. Contact Info

3. Dealer Selection

Not long ago, my friend Dan sent an e-mail seeking advice on a new car for his wife, Amanda. Raising three kids who are as active as Yoplait cultures, Dan and Amanda were looking for a vehicle that could comfortably cater to their expanding and demanding familial needs. They had just a few stipulations, most notable of which was — surprise — no minivan. Per Dan’s note, “For reasons I won’t bore you with, a minivan is not going to happen.” Those reasons, I could only assume, were their distaste for the minivan’s mommy-mobile stigma and generally big-blob styling. Many parents no doubt harbor similar feelings. Plus, for a lot of folks, buying a minivan is akin to firing a distress signal that reads, “My last crumb of coolness just flew out the sliding door.”

Alternatives? A three-row crossover, although when I recommended a slew to Dan, he told me, “We need more of the monster truck-type SUV, something with a real third row and enough trunk space when using all the seats.” Fair enough.

The final option, it seemed, was the three-row full-size SUV. But Dan had one more caveat: “Suburban-size is simply too big for our garage.” With the conditions set — no minivan, three rows, generous cargo behind third row, smaller than Suburban — I recommended, among others, the Infiniti QX56 and Toyota Sequoia. Each is a very stout, extremely capable, and extensively equipped rig that can handle all the bombs dropped by a nuclear family. Alas, each also pushes three tons and pours petrol down eight thirsty cylinders, so there aren’t many green leaves decorating the fuel gauges.

Of course, what I really wanted to tell Dan was, “Promise Amanda a tropical vacation if she agrees to a minivan; you’ll thank me in the long run.” After all, whether hauling people, pets, plants, or plywood, the minivan rules. Plus, next to a full-size sport/ute, the relatively diminutive “mini” van gets by with a more miserly V-6 and is easier to maneuver and park. And with sliding doors, often one-touch power-operated, they are supreme accommodators for tight-confine ingress/egress. But was the modern minivan really this fantastic, or was my fond subjectivity for these Toyota-dubbed “swagger wagons” skewing my judgment?

For those three-row households like Dan and Amanda’s that just can’t stomach the thought of a minivan, or require serious towing or off-road capabilities, the big SUV remains the vehicle of choice. But for everyone else, myself included, the minivan is the perfect answer.